In this article, we list the ten most popular types of pizza in the United States. Before we do though, let’s go through the history of pizza in the USA quickly.
There are so many ways to eat pizza in the United States. While we all know that a classic New York slice is the staple of all things pizza, the country has much more than just thin crust and cheese. If you happen to be visiting or live in the United States, check out these 10 types of pizza found throughout the country.
When did pizza become popular in the United States?
The history of pizza may have started way back in 1565, however Pizza arrived in the United States with the many Italian immigrants who came to the states in the early 20th century.
However, Pizza didn’t really take off in the US until after World War Two, when soldiers who had been stationed in Italy, returned home with a new found love of this delicious food.
A classic American snack, there are many different styles of delicious pizza available across the country due to regional ingredients and customizations from local chefs.
Types of Pizza in the United States
The ten most popular types of pizza in the United States, alphabetically, are;
- Brooklyn Pizza
- California Pizza
- Chicago Pizza
- Detroit Pizza
- Greek Pizza
- Neapolitan Pizza
- New Haven Pizza
- New York Pizza
- Omaha Pizza
- Sicilian Pizza
Let’s now go into detail on each style.
Brooklyn Pizza
Brooklyn Pizza is one of the most popular types of pizza in the United States, with a thin crust and light and simple tomato sauce. There are several permutations to this pizza, including prosciutto crudo and no tomato sauce, but it’s most popular in New York.
Brooklyn pizza differs from traditional New York pizza in several ways, including the fact that it is much crispier and has the toppings all the way across at the edge of the crust.
Brooklyn pizza is chewy where it meets the sauce and cheese, and it is crisp on the bottom.
California Pizza
Californians and tourists prefer gourmet toppings on their California-style pizzas. These pizzas are prepared with a light base, no cheese, and a sauce comprising dried herbs, garlic, and spices.
Normally, California pizzas contain peppers or mushrooms as well as olives. In addition to these vegetables, other items like chicken, peanut sauce, artichoke hearts, and goat cheese are also common.
California pizza was developed fairly recently, yet it has quickly become a significant player in the pizza industry.
California-style pizza is a popular choice for residents and tourists in the Golden State, thanks to the light base and no cheese, and delicious toppings with vegetables like peppers or mushrooms as well as olives.
Chicago Pizza
Chicago style pizza is famous for being a deep-dish pie with a thick dough base and toppings on top. While there are many restaurants that offer this kind of pizza, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria is probably the most well-known.
To make a Chicago style pizza, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, sweet sausage, and green peppers are layered on two thin doughs and then baked until it turns golden brown on the top.
It’s also topped with roasted red peppers or onions and then baked until it turns golden brown. It’s very difficult to eat with your hands so you’ll have to use a knife and fork to do it.
They may be called Chicago pizzas, however they are eaten throughout the United States.
Detroit Pizza
Invented in Detroit, Michigan, John Trombetta and his brothers’ pizza is square and thin. It is made with dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. It’s similar to a Neapolitan-style pizza, except for the fact that it uses a bread crust instead of a thin one.
Detroit-style pizza is usually served with Wisconsin brick cheese that goes all the way to the edges and caramelizes against the high-sided heavyweight pan.
Pizza Hut was founded in Wichita, Kansas, by Dan and Frank Carney in 1958. It is one of the largest pizza chains in the world. They began their first pizza hut in the basement of their parents’ house before moving to Arizona where they opened the first “pizza hut”.
Greek Pizza
Due to the fact that Greek pizza is one of the most well-known types of pizza in the United States, it’s no surprise that it’s extremely popular. It was created by Greek immigrants in Boston in the late 1960s, and it’s made with thick, soggy dough, greasy cheese, and tomato sauce with a powerful oregano taste.
Because this pizza is baked in a greasy, lacy pan, it produces a crisp, crunchy edge and a fried, burnt bottom. Greek ingredients such as artichokes, feta, and Kalamata olives are popular for the topping, and pepperoni is frequently used as well.
The dish is not suitable for reheating, so it should be eaten within fifteen minutes of baking.
Neapolitan Pizza
A wood-fired oven gives Neapolitan pizza a distinctive flavour. The dough is made using flour, yeast, water, and olive oil in a large bowl, after which it rises under a cloth or napkin.
They make their dough using this method, subsequently Pizza ‘pizzaiuoli’ are then prepared by heating a burning wood fire in an open pit.
The Neapolitan pizza is frequently topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, and oregano before being embellished with olives, anchovies, and so on.
New Haven Pizza
A New Haven newbie might think that the pizza’s base has been burned when he or she sees the charred crust. In reality, it’s not burnt. The pizza is burned after a period of time, the true hallmark of a perfect New Haven pizza.
To achieve this character, the pizza’s surface is scorched before the bottom is cooked. New Haven pizza is served in an irregular or oblong shape, and contains a thin, flat crust, fresh tomato sauce, or dry Italian sausage on top.
New Haven style pizza is typically cooked at high temperatures in a coal-fired or oil-fired brick oven, and consists of a thin, flat crust, mild tomato sauce, or dry Italian sausage on top.
Definitions of New Haven style pizzas are typically thin-crust pizzas cooked at high temperatures in a coal- or oil-fired brick oven and served in an irregular or oblong form.
New Haven fresh dough, usually prepared overnight in the fridge, has more complex flavours than its New York counterpart. It definitely deserves its spot on this list of popular types of pizza in the United States.
New York Pizza
New York pizza is a thin-crusted pizza with a lot of cheese like you would expect. It’s served in a circular pan and is usually served with just sauce, garlic, oregano, and pepperoni or salami. It can also use tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on top.
New York pizza is a popular cuisine in the city. It is known for generously-sized slices that are thin and flexible. They are typically folded in half so they may be eaten on the go.
Classic New York-style pizza does not have a lot of thickness or thinness, it is simply a nice middle-of-the-road pizza. Pizza was first sold at Lombardi’s pizzeria in Little Italy when it opened in 1905. It was created using coal-fired ovens.
In New York, pizza is a serious obsession. The slices are hopefully generously sized, thin and flexible, and moderately covered in sauce and cheese.
Omaha Pizza
Biscuit-like Omaha pizza crusts are typical. It is topped with cheese, jalapeños, and green onions. It has a spicy flavour and is served with honey mustard. Omaha-style pizzas are often served with a side of honey mustard for flavour.
The pizza is made using cornmeal and has a buttery, also crisp, rectangular crust in addition to its original, buttery, also crisp, rectangular form. Because of its distinctive, bakery-like crust, it has become one of Omaha’s most popular pizza styles, and on many lists of popular types of pizza in the United States.
La Casa Pizzaria has been topping its flaky unyeasted dough with unsweetened homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella or piquant Romano cheese (or both) since 1953.
Specially-preheated decks ovens are used to grill the bottom of the pizzas, resulting in that “bakery-style” characteristic. A beef sauce, onions, and mushrooms are used as the typical topping combination.
Sicilian Pizza
In America, Sicilian pizza is one of the most popular types of pizza. This style means the slices are thick and rectangular, actually similar to similar to focaccia bread. The slices are thick because they are made with thick dough and have plenty of tomato sauce.
In Conclusion
This list above comprises the ten most commonly eaten pizza varieties in the United States.
However there are many other types of pizza in the United States that are appearing across the nation thanks to local chefs putting local angles on this global food.
